Bringing you a little taste of my hometown's street food through this recipe. My city AHMEDABAD which is located in GUJARAT (INDIA) is known for its heritage, culture and of course its food. Those who belong to my hometown would probably relate when I mention the name MANEKCHOWK food stalls. The age old food court that's been there even before I was born serving famous street food recipes you would never get tired of eating. You know what's so special about it then keep on reading and if you already know the place, by now you would be already reminiscing the mouth watering dishes you would have eaten there.
For those of you who are not familiar let me give you a little glimpse of what this place is. So just like Mumbai's Juhu Beach and New York's street food carts my hometown Ahmedabad has its own street food market which opens up only at night after sunset. Reason being it's located in the densely populated shopping district and its filled with people during the day who come to shop for clothes,jewellery, home goods etc...So once these stores close down around 8-9 pm that's when the foodies rejoice, as lots of food cart vendors arrange their setup which is like a mini street restaurant. Right from Indo-chinese to south Indian, street food to desserts you name it and they have it. Inspired from this market my city now has several such food courts all around serving all kinds of Indian, Fusion and street food.
My last trip in 2019 is when I tried this mouth watering delight called GHUGHRA SANDWICH, now I do not know why its called that but it tastes heavenly. It's made using the most basic ingredients you'll ever imagine. So today I tried to recreate it, of course you can't beat the taste of street food at home, but this one turned out pretty darn good. You know why it tastes amazing because of the AMUL CHEESE & BUTTER that are key ingredients for this recipe. SO TRY TO MAKE IT WITH THE SAME FOR THAT SAME AUTHENTIC TASTE. And last but not the least is this special CLASSIC SANDWICH MAKER that's used by the street vendors to make this sandwich. I have one at my home but if you don't have it then a grilling pan or regular nonstick pan will do just fine, don't worry I am going to post pictures of it for your reference of the sandwich maker. See below for pics on how it looks.
Want to know why this SANDWICH MAKER is special, because it's totally manual and you use it on a GAS FLAME to make the sandwich. It's a very old kitchen gadget used in INDIA which I guess was made to replicate the taste of a grill or oven at low cost and also which works on GAS STOVE instead of electricity. If you are looking to buy one your INDIAN GROCERY STORES like Patel Brothers would definitely carry it.
Let's begin the process of making this easy peesy street food recipe. Below is the list of ingredients and steps. I am also adding pictures for you to refer. Bon Appetit !!!
PREP TIME: 20 MINS COOK TIME: 20 MINS SERVES: Makes 4 Sandwiches
1 Large Red Onion (finely chopped)
1 Green Bell Pepper (finely chopped)
3-4 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
1/2 cup coriander leaves (finely chopped)
6-7 Cubes AMUL CHEESE (Grated)
1 Small Sized AMUL BUTTER PACK (let it be room temp)
1 Cup Green Chutney (see below for my recipe)
12 Slices Thick White Bread(I used HONEST Brand from Patel Brothers)
You can use Pepperidge farms white bread or any italian sliced bread if you can't find the same brand as mine.
1 Tablespoon Chaat Masala
1 Tablespoon Sandwich Masala
1/4 Table spoon Italian seasoning
1 Teaspoon Red chili flakes
STEP 1- Take 1 bunch coriander (washed properly), 1 inch piece ginger, 3-4 garlic cloves, 2-3 small green chilies, 2 tablespoon skinless raw peanuts, 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon black salt, 1/2 juice of lemon and blend it into smooth fine paste. This will become your coriander chutney AKA GREEN CHUTNEY.
STEP 2: Chop the onion, green pepper, green chilies and coriander to super fine pieces(use a chopper if you have) and add in the chaat masala, sandwich masala, italian seasoning and red chili flakes
STEP 3: Grate the amul cheese and keep it in a separate bowl. Slice off the ends from the bread.
STEP 4: Take 3 slices of bread for one sandwich and then apply butter first and then green chutney to all 3 slices evenly.
STEP 5: Apply heaping large spoonful of veggie mixture on 2 of the breads you just put chutney & butter on and put some grated amul cheese on both the slices of bread with veggie mixture(see pics)
STEP 6: Now place the bread with the side of chutney & butter on one of the bread with veggie mixture. Apply some green chutney on the plain end and carefully place it other bread with veggie mixture (see pics)
STEP 7: Turn on the gas and take your sandwich maker or pans and apply some butter on both sides of sandwich and carefully place it on the sandwich maker or pan.
STEP 8: Close the sandwich maker carefully applying very little pressure and turning frequently let the sandwich cook till its nice and crispy golden brown on all sides. If you are using a pan then apply pressure on each side while cooking and let it turn nice and crisy brown on both ends.
SLICE to your liking and serve with green chutney or ketchup. ENJOY !!!!!! SLIDE BELOW FOR PICS OF STEP BY STEP.
